The Other Side Of The Force
by Kaebman
Summary: "Follow the Force, And You will always find me" It had been a part of Jared's dreams since he was a child, The small blind Asian man dying in his arms. It wasn't until he saw Rogue One that he knew the man's name: Chirrut Imwe. And it wasn't until he met Sofia, the energetic and dreamy internet penpal, that he began to wonder; perhaps it wasn't a dream. Perhaps it was a memory.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Chirrut and Baze are reincarnated into new bodies. This takes place in our world in the year 2016. NOTE, Jared is going on the pronounciation of Baze and Chirrut from his dream. I think it would be entirely understandable for him to think they are saying "Babe and Chirup." He will be corrected.  
Also, in this life, 'Baze' is a 24 year old black male named Jared, and 'Chirrut is a SEEING 23 year old Hispanic FAAB nonbinary person names Sofia. What? you actually think theyd both be reincarnated into asian male bodies with their old names? Sorry, Reincarnation isn't like that.

* * *

Jared sat upright, heart beating in anguish. "Gah! Fucking dream again." he muttered.

At age 24, he was getting tired of this shit. The same exact dream, every time. An Asian man, buzzed, wearing some kind of kimono or something, standing in front of a bunch of machinery. Bullets whizzing past and explosions going off. He knew that he loved the man (which was weird, he wasnt into dudes, not that that was bad, he just wasnt) and he watched as the man turned to him, weird ass blue eyes glowing with pride, and then an explosion went off, throwing the man to the side. In the dream, he'd always rush toward him, carrying a shit ton of armor or something and a giant ass gun, and ran to hold him, saying "Chirup, Chirup, I'm here, I'm here." The man, Chirup, he guessed- what kinda weird ass name was that- said "Babe. Follow the Force, and you will always find me."

AAAAAND that was the end.

He'd always wake up with a cold sweat, his heart feeling like someone had dumped it in ice. It had been an occasional dream as a child for as long as he could remember, but recently, it had become more common, until now it was every day.

He groaned and turned over, looking for some sleep.

* * *

"Hey Jared, wanna come with? The gangs going to see that new Star Wars Movie." His friend Kyle said through his mouth of chips.

"Dude, you know I don't do that dorky geek stuff." Jared said, pushing his friend away. "And can you at least try to chew first? No wonder you never get laid."

"Hey, I get laid, I just don't tell you about it. Anyway, I might get laid tonight. Stacie's is going. I might score with her."

"No fair, I called dibs first!" Jared said, laughing and pushing Kyle's shoulder.

"Then come with us. Come on, we can make fun of all the dweebs. Plus, there's a party afterward at Angela's crib."

"Alright, I'll go."

Jared waited in line, joking about all the dumb dorks in their little robes and swords, and really didn't expect to enjoy even one minute of it. Then, as Jen, or whatever her name was, was walking through the market, he saw him, the little Asian man from his dreams! He knew it was him. He was blind? Well, that explained the eyes. Then he watched this man kick the white armor guy's ass! Woah!

After that, he paid attention, watching the play between the big Asian guy, Babe, and the little one, Chirup. He felt a kinship to the big guy Babe, in a way he never had with any person, even in real life. He felt like he KNEW them, like he WAS them. And then, they were on the beach, and there was the machinery, and he saw Chirup walk out, and turn around... His belly turned to ice. 'No, don't die. No.' Yet Chirup did, and Babe ran, and he realized that HE was BABE. His dream, it had always been him and Chirup, He wept as he watched himself- no, Babe- fight against total odds, only to die while looking at his lover.

* * *

He didn't even hear his friends tease him about crying, didn't even remember the party. He was on autopilot, thinking about his- no, Babe's- death scenes. That night, he grabbed his computer, hoping to find something, anything about these two. He discovered that their names were ChirRUT and BaZe, not Chirup and Babe. He discovered that there was a shit ton of books and movies about this universe. He eventually came to a chat room for Rogue One fans, and began chatting with the fans. Most were dismissive once they realized he had never seen any of the other movies, and left him feeling dumb.

Just as he was about to get off, he got a private message from a person named "ForceofFaith"

ForceofFaith- You shouldn't let them make you feel dumb.  
He paused and typed back.  
Guest793125- I'm not feeling dumb. This site is dumb.  
ForceofFaith- The people here don't take well to newcomers. We've been ignored and bullied for so long, it is only natural to fight against those outside our circles. I am Sofia. I too, am an outcast, though I have been a fan for nearly a decade.  
Guest79315- Why are you an outcast? I'm Jared, btw.  
ForceofFaith- Because, unlike most, I believe in the Force.  
He paused. She believed in the Force? What the heck?  
Guest79315- What, like you think your a Jedi?  
ForceofFaith- No, I cannot access the Force, not even as much as Chirrut can. But I believe it exists. It is no less a valid belief than that of Christians or Muslims. We all beleive in things which can never be proven.  
Guest79315- Well, I am an agnostic atheist, so while I don't believe in any higher power, I won't tell you that you are wrong. I believe that this life is all there is, so religion is all moot. Whatever helps you sleep at night.  
ForceofFaith- Do you?  
Guest79315- Do I what?  
ForceofFaith- Believe that this life is all there is?  
Jared felt like it held more meaning than a mere question, like his answer would change everything for him  
Guest79315- Well, yeah. I mean, I can't prove it, so theres no use worrying about it.  
There was a long pause then  
ForceofFaith- Interesting. Well, I must get off. If ever you have questions about the movies, or you just want to talk, my email is 1withthe4c . Please feel free to message me.

With that, ForceofFaith got off. Jared stared at the line "ForceofFaith has signed off" for a long time before groaning and going to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, a different dream came to him. It was of a boy who looked like Chirrut, but only in his preteens, maybe 12 or so. They were in a stark white room, with a tall robe clad man. The boy was leanign against Jared's shoulder and he knew he was Baze, quiet sobs filling the air.

"Can't something be done?" He found himself saying.

"No, Brother Malbus, The disease is far beyond our abilities to heal. Beyond anyone's abilities. It is genetic and thus, even bacta cannot heal it. Luckily it is gradual. He should have a year, perhaps almost two, before he is completely blind. It should allow time for him to adjust." The man rose. "I shall let you two talk alone."

When the man left,Baze gathered young Chirrut in his arms. "We will find a way, Chirrut, we will-"

"Will you stay with me?" Chirrut's voice was small and still, and Baze almost missed it.

"Yes, of course I will stay with you. We are best friends."

Chirrut huffed. "But I'll be blind. It won't be the same. We won't draw, or play games, or-"

Baze put his hands on Chirrut's face. "Yes, and you will still tell me jokes and still hold me when I am sad. You will still laugh and smile and we will still gossip about the Fathers and we will still play pranks on people, and we will still be friends."

To Baze, and Jared's surprise, Chirrut sobbed and launched himself at Baze, lips meeting in a heated kiss. Baze froze, causing Chirrut to pull back with a horrified expression on his face. "I'm sorry-"

Baze pulled him back. "I'm not." then kissed him back just as fiercely.

* * *

Jared woke up and gasped. He had had another dream! He got up and made himself some coffee. It was 4am! Why was he up at 4am on a Saturday? What to do? He could surf the web!

When he walked over to the table, he saw the florescant yellow of a sticky note with an email address scrawled on in his usual big blocky letters. Ah yes, Sofia. The girl from the chatroom. He chewed his lip as he fiddled with the sticky note. Should he message her? What if he sounded dorky? 'You cried at Star Wars, and spent all last night researching fictional characters.' His mind pointed out. 'Its too late, you ARE a dork.'

Sitting down, he opened his email account, previously only used to message teachers and get free spam, er, coupons, from businesses. Typing in her address, he stared at the screen.

"This is Jared, you know, the guy you talked to on that star wars site last night? I was wondering, what can you tell me of Baze? You know, the guy with the guns?"

He refreshed, then refreshed again, before groaning and rubbing his eyes. "Its four in the fucking morning. Chill out, shes probly not even u-" His computer dinged, signalling a new message. He opened it up and read.

"Good morning Jared! I remember you, the atheistic agnostic. I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon, but it is a nice surprise. Yes, i am doing well, thanks for asking. ;). Anyway, as for Baze, he's a new character, so there isn't much Canon evidence on him yet other than what's in the movie. Canon means only what is in the original source material, i.e. Rogue One movie. Everything I know from Canon, you already know too, if you've seen the movie. However, there is a lot of info from Fanon. Fanon is anything that is generally agreed on by the fans that is not contradicted by the canon or the writers/cast. The most important is that Chirrut and Baze have a long standing romantic homosexual attraction and either are married or in a decades long civil partnership, whichever is legal on Jedha. This has been vaguely supported by the writer and director, as well as the actors, although all of them have been extremely cautious to not explicitly endorse the idea.

Another idea that is fanon, is that baze was a guardian as well who turned his back when the temple fell, blaming the force for killing the jedi and destroying his home. However, his love for Chirrut remained strong and they managed to work things out over the next decade or two.

Anyway, thats the things everyone agrees on. Other things, like how chirrut lost his eyesight, and such, are up for debate. Many people think he was born blind. Have a nice day, and may the force be with you."

Jared wrote back eagerly, his hands flying over the keyboard. "He wasn't born blind, he got sick. It went away gradually. And sorry, I should have asked how you were doing." He insisted over the internet.

There was a pause, in which he wished he could unsend that message. He shouldn't have sounded so insistant. What did it matter to him whether a fictional character had a particular backstory or not? Then she answered. "Did he now? Interesting. Of course, I agree wholeheartedly."

A second later, another message beeped in. "As much as I am loving this conversation, school is in 30 minutes and I am not yet ready. You distracted me. Thank you. Perhaps I will message you at noon? I'll have a few hours break between classes. May the force be with you."

He looked at the clock. It was 4:49! How could she possibly be late for class? He logged off and starred out the window, not looking, just staring at the steady flow of bright colors and moving shapes that was the streets outside his tiny apartment. What if she was lying and wasn't going to ever message him back? That suddenly seemed like a terrible thing.

He ran his fingers across his broad nose and large lips. He was handsome, he had been told that often enough, both by women as well as a few gay men. With dark dark skin, brown eyes just the right side of too big, and a strong jaw line, he was quite the catch. Lean well defined muscles from his time playing running back and basketball, as well as strong nimble fingers made it an even more attractive offer. Its just, he wasn't often interested. Of course, he fooled around, went on dates, hooked up, but none of it had ever meant anything. He preferred the company of his large circle of friends to anything romantic. But times like this, he womdered if this was all he would ever get- empty flirting and meaningless sex. He wondered if there was any great love story out there for him like Chirrut and Baze's.

Crawling back into bed, he pulled the blanket over his head. He had 8 hours until 12, after all. Might as well get some rest.


End file.
